


Punisher

by waterinyourhands



Category: RWBY
Genre: Alternate Universe - College/University, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Alternate Universe - Modern: No Powers, Angst, College, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Modern Era, Slow Burn
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-08
Updated: 2021-03-08
Packaged: 2021-03-14 11:22:38
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 837
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29916165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/waterinyourhands/pseuds/waterinyourhands
Summary: Based on the events of the Punisher album by Phoebe Bridgers."No longer a danger to herself or othersShe made up her mind and laced up her shoesYelled down the hall but nobody answeredSo she walked outside without an excuse"
Relationships: Blake Belladonna & Yang Xiao Long, Blake Belladonna/Yang Xiao Long
Kudos: 3





	Punisher

**Author's Note:**

> Blake POV  
> Life after Adam is hard. The thoughts and consequences of the relationship weigh heavy on Blake.

There's a numb feeling that washes over you in the unknowing comfort of silence. One that whispers your thoughts like hundreds of distant voices none seeming like your own. When you've been quiet unable to form words for over a week there's no voice that truly sounds like your own. It's like the whirring of static when the disk slows on a record, the pause where everything is too silent but not silent enough. That emptiness has lingered in Blake's stomach for a week and three days now. Though she wasn't sure if she had counted exactly right. 

Most of these days had been spent curled up under her blankets clutching her chest and wracking her body with sobs that were too silent for her liking. She could never scream loud enough to convey how she felt inside. She wasn't a loud person, never had been, never enjoyed the constant flow of words streaming from her mouth. But now she craved for her voice to boom off the tops of mountains and ring down in thunderous waves that would split the earth in two. But she was silent. She sniffled into her sleeve turned over, and could never will herself to scream.

Those thoughts whirred in the back of her head the ones she had met with her teeth and claws to tear away from her brain. They whispered to her like smoke that cascaded over a forest. smothering out any sunlight from the trees and leaving only the wildfires to light their world. That piece of self-destruction gnawed at her. 

She missed him she decided. Not the man he was but the presence he had built, the memory. She didn't miss the scars or the bruises and was well reminded of them by her aching ribs. She missed the apartment that she had dreamed of and the hope that he was the one, and the hope she had truly found her soulmate. But that was a memory, and the scar tissue on her side was real. 

Now she didn't even have the comfort of her bed to keep her company in her silence, only the back seat of a car, and the pittering of rain on a car window. Her mom and dad sat quietly in the front seat occasionally chattering, and flipping through radio stations, but they were quiet. They hadn't bothered trying to talk to her for four days now. She missed their attempts if she was honest, but she couldn't manage to tell them that. So she stayed quiet tucked her head into the black sweatshirt, and drifted off to the sound of cars passing them. 

Dreams weren't any better. She knew that, but it seemed like all she could do was sleep. 

They all started the same she was chained down by her ankles. The chains were cold, but then she'd realize she was underwater and everything seemed to only grow colder. She'd scream and it would burn. The taste of salt and brine scratching violently in her throat. She could see the light from above, bright and golden. Then she could hear the muffled voices that seemed to only be whispered. Then the water would grow darker, and she'd sink impossibly further. And then she'd wake up and realize it was a dream all over again. 

It happened again and again. No matter how long she slept it was always the same, always felt the same. 

She brought a hand to her cheek and could feel that there were already tears streaming without her having to begin thinking. It was one of her many comforts that at least they would be assured. They reminded her she was still a person, that she was still living and breathing. As sad as it was to take comfort in your tears they made her feel better, and that's all Blake cared about. 

"We're here." The car rolled to a stop in front of the familiar dorm building of Beacon academy. Her mom looked into the backseat her sad golden eyes were forced upwards by the small smile she'd try to keep on for her daughter. Blake nodded her head in response untangling herself from the curled position she was in slowly and solemnly. "You can still stay home you know, baby. You don't have to come back to school if you don't want to." 

Blake looked at her sternly but not upset and with her hoarse voice spoke, "This is what I need right now. I need a distraction and school seems like my best option." 

"I know, I know. I just-- Blake I love you, and your hurting. We want to help you, and it just seems so far away." 

"I'll be fine."

"If you insist so." 

She unclicked her seatbelt and the deafening noise sent a spark through her fingertips. Maybe she was right, and things could get better here. Maybe if she tried hard enough she could forget. Maybe if she ran a little further from him it would've worked better. 


End file.
